Guardianship counselor challenged for “religious support” has injunction denied

After having her candidacy for the Guardianship Council challenged for receiving support from supposed “religious entities”, lawyer Rosana Rabelo filed a request for an injunction against the decision of the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA) and had this request denied by the judge Marco César Vasconcelos e Souza, from the Children and Youth Court of São José dos Campos.

The resident of the city of São Paulo was the most voted councilor in the city, with 7,004 votes, and reports that she was not heard during the administrative procedure nor did she have access to the process documents to defend herself against the allegations against her. “Something that I have the right to under the Access to Information Law and that I should access instantly as a lawyer”, she stated, noting that her right to defense was curtailed.

According to Rosana, she learned that her candidacy had been challenged when the “conviction” had already been decided by the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA), which violates the rules of the notice regarding the possibility of administrative appeal and also the competence to judge, which belongs to the Electoral Commission. “One instance was suppressed, as my case was judged directly by the CMDCA panel, and not by the Electoral Commission,” she explained.

Furthermore, the lawyer reports that she did not have access to the documents to defend herself, as she received notification on Friday, November 17th, and only managed to access the content of the complaints on the 24th, after sending several emails and looking for the Service in person. Citizen Support.

“They were denying my access to the administrative process, so I said I wouldn’t leave without access”, says Rosana, who had to call the Prerogatives Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) to get it.

Given the situation, the lawyer requested that the process be invalidated due to non-compliance with the rules of the notice and restriction of defense, resulting in a “biased” trial. She also requested the provisional removal of the CMDCA coordinator so that the process would be impartial, and mentioned that Article 20 of the notice explains that complaints cannot be anonymous. “But the CMDCA received anonymous complaints against me.”

However, the judge expressed opposition to the request, claiming that the CMDCA resolution “observed the procedures of the internal regulations” and that there was a lack of evidence for the defense. “The author must objectively demonstrate the violation of the right to full defense and adversarial proceedings, providing sufficient evidence”, states the decision.

According to Rosana, the administrative procedure itself already shows that there was a restriction on the defense, as her only statement says that she did not have access to the complaints. “How could I defend myself without the content of the accusation?”, she asks.

New feature request

Now, after the injunction denied, the lawyer must file a new appeal this Thursday (14) against the CMDCA decision, which imposed the challenge due to alleged “abuse of economic power” during the electoral campaign due to “use of political parties or religious entities to manage the candidacy”.

Among the complaints is the video of a man telling a certain group of people to vote for candidate Rosana. “It’s a video recorded on a cell phone, and the complainant herself says that I wasn’t there and that this person didn’t know me,” explains the lawyer.

Another complaint points to a publication by a state deputy that showed the candidate Rosana and another boy, who was not challenged. “When this happened, I filed an extrajudicial notification for improper use of the image, and the deputy removed the post in less than 24 hours”, informs Rosana, while also stating that other complaints of the same content had different judgments than hers.

“This candidate who was also mentioned in the publication, for example, was not challenged, as was another person, who was reported with a video released throughout Brazil of open support for the LGBT Community at a public event, but the Commission also decided not to challenge .”

Rosana Rabelo has conservative guidelines

The lawyer was also denounced due to a live broadcast she did at the beginning of the campaign presenting her conservative agendas, such as the fight against the eroticization of children, guidance for parents regarding childhood vaccination and increased supervision of Guardianship Councils themselves.

“The complainant placed a lot of emphasis on this, saying that it was false advertising because the Council does not have these responsibilities”, reports Rosana. “But the legal description of what the Guardianship Council is makes clear that it protects the rights of children and adolescents, which expands its activities to cover any situation of vulnerability”, she adds. The video was taken down when it was considered “irregular”.

In total, Rosana received 7,004
votes, having the highest vote in the municipality and one of the highest in Brazil. “People voted for those who clearly defended their values, and I will fight for each of these people”, says Rosana, citing the principle of preserving the vote in Article 219 of the Electoral Code.

“When applying electoral law, the judge will always attend to the purposes and results to which it is directed, refraining from pronouncing nullities without demonstrating prejudice”, says the law in Electoral Law.

Gazeta do Povo contacted the city of São José dos Campos, via email, but did not receive a response until the closing of this report. The text will be updated if the municipal authorities provide further clarification on the case.